Dallas had the 92nd overall pick in the third round today, but opted to trade it to the Lions. Unfortunately, the G-men were then able to choose Mario Manningham with the 95th pick. The Cowboys elected to trade their 100th pick as well, to Oakland, and didn’t actually take their fourth pick in the draft until number 122 with their choice being RB Tashard Choice. At 5’11” and 215 lbs., Choice is big and fast, and if he stays healthy, could be a great producer for the Cowboys.

As for the Pacman Jones deal, there were issues to be resolved concerning Jones’ bonuses earned with the Titans. He was willing to give up the money to make the trade but the Player’s union argued the point. The rest of the contract was basically undisclosed but was reported to be for 3-years with most of the money incentive-based, including an option for a fourth-year. Jerry Jones stated he was optimistic the NFL would approved the deal as early as today, which they did.

The action was much more frantic on Day 2 as almost every team made either a move up or down in each round. There were 33 trades made during the entire draft, a new NFL record!

There was also an interesting debate at “Draft Central” in New York concerning the possibility of the draft being held in different cities on an annual basis and maybe being aired on “primetime” national coverage . I personally agree with both as the first day so went smoothly and quickly and every city should be given the opportunity to host it.

S Joshua Barrett from Arizona State was still available at pick 143, but instead Dallas chose CB Orlando Scandrick from Boise State. Scandrick is 5’10”, 192 lbs. with 4.3 speed, is very athletic providing more depth at CB where we have been hurt the last two seasons with starters going down early and not enough depth to cover it.

With their last pick in the draft at number 167 overall in the sixth round, the Cowboys chose DE Erik Walden from Middle Tennessee State. Wow, what a surprise that was since they are pretty deep at DE/LB, and, unfortunately, there wasn’t much info available on him. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the draft as that concluded the Cowboys participation.

The team did the best in the draft was Kansas City but several teams did well on Day 1 and continued to excel on Day 2. Washington, Pittsburgh and Dallas still rated highly with their actions today, as did most of the NFC East teams. I grade the Cowboys’ draft as fourth or fifth best with a B+.